


The Captain's Hair of a Different Color

by jedi_harkness



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Genre: Book: The Enterprise War - John Jackson Miller, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Kissing in the turbolift, Light Angst, No Smut, Not Beta Read, Reference to Star Trek II (if you catch it)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-12-22 15:51:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21079367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jedi_harkness/pseuds/jedi_harkness
Summary: "Chris?" Una blinked to make sure her eyes were in working order. "Did you... did you dye your hair?" she asked, unsure if she should burst out laughing or worry about her Captain's state of mind.





	The Captain's Hair of a Different Color

**Author's Note:**

> So if you're like me and Number One and have been closely studying Captain Pike, you might have noticed that his hair is darker in the early episodes of Discovery S2 than in the new Short Treks, which are supposed to take place before then. I mentioned this to my bestie and she joked about Pike dying his hair before taking command of Discovery, which brought about this silly little story. This takes place after The Enterprise War novel by John Jackson Miller, and I highly recommend giving it a read it if you haven't already! So whether or not this little offering ends up as your head-canon, I hope you enjoy! (There's no smut, but there are a few cuss words and slightly mature themes so I rated it 'T' to be on the safe side.)
> 
> Disclaimer: Star Trek was created by Gene Roddenberry, and Star Trek: Discovery was created by Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman. Both are the property of CBS/Viacom and Paramount Pictures. This was created for entertainment purposes, and no money is being made!

Una smiled politely at the officers who passed her in the corridor, hoping they didn't hear the growling in her stomach. She'd been so busy helping to put the _Enterprise_ back together after their hellish year in the Pergamum Nebula that time to eat square meals had been hard to find, not to mention that she had missed weeks of solid food while she'd been joined with one of the Rengru that were native to the Nebula. She had a moment of gratitude at not having to hear Dr. Phil Boyce's well-intentioned nagging, but then her heart fell as she remembered why. Spock had spent much of that year separated from his crew-mates, and the experience had taken a great mental toll on the Vulcan. At this very moment Boyce was on a shuttle accompanying Spock to a mental-health facility on Starbase 5, and the plight of her friend and fellow officer was hard on Una. It was also hard on their Captain Christopher Pike, Una could tell. They were both working double-shifts and between that and Una's recovery they hadn't spent a night together since leaving the Nebula. She'd been missing Chris greatly, but as she waited for the turbolift and reflected on the past year's events, she supposed they both needed some healing time on their own.

_Enterprise_ had been caught up in a war between two of the Nebula's native species, and during one battle the ship went through an emergency separation. As fate would have it Chris was in command of the saucer section while Una took command of the stardrive section. The two sections were out of contact for months, and neither Chris or Una had any idea whether the other was alive or dead. And even before that they had gone through the trauma of losing Spock and the most of the others in the science crew to one of the warring alien races, although that hadn't been discovered until much later. Chris had predictably taken their initially presumed deaths hard and for the second time in his career was considering resigning his commission, so Una could only imagine what losing her, Boyce, and the others in the stardrive section had done to his psyche. Being apart from Chris and not knowing his fate for all those months certainly hadn't done hers much good. While she was thankful that they were able get both the ship and crew back together and resolve the crisis, alone time with Chris had been as hard to find as time to get decent food in her stomach. Chris was doing his utmost to whip _Enterprise_ back into shape, all while being the strong and stalwart Captain who was there for his crew and also fretting over Spock's condition. It was amazing how he was holding himself together and Una silently hoped he could keep doing so. She had been looking forward to returning to Earth with Chris and unwinding at his ranch in Mojave, but alas the universe had other ideas and _Enterprise_ had been ordered to rendezvous with _Discovery_ where Chris would take command and investigate the mysterious seven signals that had been detected. As proud as she was to be a part of Starfleet, she silently cursed it for not letting her Captain rest.

The 'whoosh' of the opening door broke into Una's thoughts and she gladly stepped inside, anticipating a hearty breakfast in the mess. She turned to face the doors as they made to close, and then a deep and familiar voice came to her ears.

"Hold the door, Commander!" Christopher Pike shouted, and Una saw him running toward the lift. She quickly put her hand out to keep the doors from shutting, and Chris slipped in before she let go.

Chris smiled gratefully as he caught his breath and leaned back against the wall. "Thanks, Una."

Una smiled warmly and nodded. "Anytime. Heading for the mess?"

"Yeah, thanks," Chris replied, and Una softly gave the order to the ship's computer. Still smiling, she swept her eyes over Chris' large frame and admired how the uniform hugged his body. If she wasn't so hungry right now she would pause the lift, press him further into the wall, and...

The thought was left unfinished as Una noticed something off about Chris, something... different. Yet she couldn't put her finger on what it was. His manner was the same as usual. Yes, the past year had been a roller-coaster, but he was bouncing back like the rest of the crew. The last time the two of them spoke, he was looking forward to the challenge of the mission with _Discovery_ even though he hated having to leave _Enterprise_. She studied him from top to toe, and with closer scrutiny she caught the slight difference in his appearance, a difference that both surprised and baffled her. "Chris?" Una blinked to make sure her eyes were in working order. "Did you... did you dye your hair?" she asked, unsure if she should burst out laughing or worry about her Captain's state of mind.

Chris turned to her with his surprised and innocent look, and then he smiled sheepishly as his cheeks pinked. "Um.. yeah, I did," he replied, self-consciously running his fingers through the strands. They had been colored as dark as they were during the Academy days, save for a whisper of gray. "Do you like it?" he asked, his smile turning flirtatious. "I opted not to go all the way. Didn't want to totally hide my age."

Una opened her mouth and shut it again. "Okay, so you're probably not going through a midlife crisis..." she mused. "But... why?"

A shadow of doubt fell over Chris' face. "Why not? We got out of that war in the Pergamum in one piece, I'm about to take on a new command..." His lips quirked into a sardonic smile. "And Phil isn't here to give me shit about it, so I figured it was time to freshen up my look."

"And what made you think I wouldn't give you shit about it?" Una said dryly. "Seriously, Chris. Your look doesn't need freshening up. Have you seen yourself, really seen yourself, in a holo-mirror lately?" she added with a smile.

Chris snorted. "Yeah, I have. And I don't want to look like an old fogey when I take command of _Discovery_."

Una raised an eyebrow, and then hit the control to pause the turbolift. "And old fogey? Really?" she asked, incredulous.

"C'mon, Una, _Discovery_'s crew are practically kids..." Chris began.

"And what? You don't want to look like their grandfather? Since when would you care about that?" Una offered.

"I care about making a good first impression," Chris retorted.

Una rolled her eyes with a laugh. "Chris, you'll make a good first impression no matter what. You didn't need to color your hair."

"I just wanted to, okay?" Chris shot back, and then he let out a sigh. "In just three years my hair's gone almost totally gray, and I'm still in my forties! This job is prematurely aging me!" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, with everything we went through this past year, what's going on with Spock, and lately I've been reflecting on what we went through on Talos..." Una swallowed as she listened. "I suppose I got to thinking of my own mortality, and getting out of the Pergamum felt like a renewal, so I thought maybe... Hell, I guess I am having a kind of midlife crisis," he finished softly.

Una studied Chris and considered his words for a moment or two. "It might not be that so much as... well, you mentioned a renewal. I'm thinking you just wanted to renew yourself. It's natural to do that now and again. I would even venture to say it's healthy, to a point," she said, smiling a little as she reached over to thread her fingers through Chris' hair. "It does look nice."

Chris returned her smile, his tone wry. "But you don't think it's rational."

"I don't think it was necessary," Una clarified. "I don't know if I've ever mentioned it before, but I love the gray. It makes you look distinguished as well as sexy," she added soft and low.

Chris came closer and wound his arms around her waist. "Sexy, huh? Well, I'm glad I kept some of the gray," he murmured twinkling.

Una happily let herself be pulled closer and laid her hands on his broad chest. "So am I," she replied, and then she sighed. "Chris, I wish you told me you were thinking of doing this."

Chris cast his eyes downward. "So you could talk me down?"

"In a manner of speaking," Una said, tracing random patterns on his uniform jacket. "I think this was about more than renewal or changing your look. You're still questioning yourself and going through self-doubt, even though the Nebula is becoming a distant memory. And now that you're getting a new ship and a new mission, I think you needed a boost of confidence."

Chris took a swallow and then nodded. "That hadn't occurred to me, but I think you might be right," he replied, lightly running his hand over her back. "I should've talked to you about this, and I wanted to, but..."

Una nodded back. "But we've both been busy, I know," she said gently before kissing him on the lips. They slowly eased back, sharing a little smile.

"I'm sorry we haven't been spending a lot of time together, and I'm sorry that we won't have that shore leave in Mojave," Chris murmured as their foreheads touched. "But we will as soon as this mission is done, and God willing it won't take more than a week."

"And then you can finally ride your horse," Una said smiling.

"And I can take you camping," Chris offered with a lopsided grin.

Una made a face. "Sleeping on the cold ground with the lizards and snakes. How romantic," she said dryly.

"Oh, it can be very romantic. You and me sharing a sleeping bag under the stars..." Chris said lowly as he held her closer. "We'll keep each other warm and I'll protect you from the lizards and snakes," he added before stealing another kiss.

Una flashed a little grin when they parted. "You sure know how to sweet-talk a girl, Pike," she teased. "Will you make me another promise?"

"Sure, anything," Chris replied smiling.

"Come back with your natural hair?" Una said twinkling.

Chris laughed. "You got it, Number One," he said as they let each other go. Una hit the control panel once again, and as the turbolift resumed moving the comm sounded.

"Bridge to Captain Pike," Lt. Nicola said through the speaker.

Chris pressed the button to answer. "Pike here."

"Incoming transmission from Admiral Cornwell, sir. She wishes to speak with you personally and on a secure channel," Nicola informed him.

"Pipe it to Briefing Room 2, would you, Vic? Let the Admiral know I'll speak with her shortly," Chris replied.

"Aye-aye, sir," Nicola said, and Una ordered the lift to proceed to Deck 14 where the briefing room was located.

"Looks like I'm having breakfast by myself," Una remarked after Chris closed the channel.

"I'm guessing this is regarding the mission with _Discovery_," Chris said. "See you at lunch, maybe?" he then asked smiling.

Una smiled back. "Maybe. Depends on the workload for today," she said just as the lift stopped and the doors opened.

"Who the hell's been..." Lt. Amin started before she looked up and saw who was inside. "Oh! Sorry, Captain! Commander! I didn't know you were in here," she offered, her cheeks reddening.

Chris smiled warmly. "It's alright, Jamila, and sorry we kept you waiting. I was just leaving," he assured the young officer before turning to Una. "I'll hopefully see you later, Number One?"

"Hopefully, Captain," Una replied with a smile and and a nod.

Chris nodded to Una in kind, and then nodded to Amin as he stepped out and she stepped in. The doors shut and Amin had a curious and questioning look as the lift started off again. "Sorry if I'm speaking out of turn, Commander. But did Captain Pike color his hair?" she offered carefully.

Una shrugged. "Hmm, I haven't noticed."

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on Twitter and/or Tumblr @jedikat71!


End file.
